Loud Magazine Issue 58

True community

Borough Council Community Directory 1984

Loud Issue #58 February - APRIL 2014 1

The Depot Artspace quarterly magazine Loud showcases exhibitions, events, artists, music and musicians and a host of other creative initiatives.

It is a condensed representation of our values; a clear and informative voice as well as a practical guide to what’s happening at Depot Artspace.

Loud is the voice of Depot Artspace.

Loud is about respect, support, advocacy and promotion of the arts.

Loud is about liberation of the arts from current narrow definitions.

Loud is a forum for discussion and opinion.

Loud is Loud because it needs to be - art is an incredibly undervalued aspect of our culture, significant to our history and our society.

Contents of LOUD 58 • About the Depot Artspace • Editorial: True Community - Components of a Meaningful Community - Linda Blincko • Depot Artspace Exhibitions and Openings • Writing Services for Artists - Jennie Hatherley • The Meaningful Community Map • Disappearing Communities: Evergreen Books - Linda Blincko • Volunteering at the Depot Artspace - Helen Winskill • My Sense of Place - Robyn Gibson • Approaching my own Art Practice and my Teaching of Art in Simpatico - Linda Gair • Depot Sound News • Cultural Icons News • ArtsLab True Community - Lynn Lawton • Social photos of Depot Exhibition Openings • Join Depot Artspace

All content © Depot Artspace and the respective artists, 2014 For magazine contribution, comment or criticism contact Linda (09) 963 2331 or linda.blincko@depotartspace.co.nz LOUD Magazine design and layout by Lia Kent Mackillop 2

www.depotartspace.co.nz

A Multidisciplinary Creative Community Depot Artspace is an open and inclusive multidisciplinary community that encourages engagement in all art forms. The Depot Artspace houses three galleries and offers a variety of facilities, services and events that support the creative community and provide opportunities for engagement and appreciation. www.depotartspace.co.nz Depot Sound is the Depot Artspace recording studio. Depot Sound is dedicated to providing a friendly and productive outlet for artists along with support and advice for musicians.

Rehearsal rooms are also available to hire. www.depotsound.co.nz Ph. (09) 963 2328 Museum of the Vernacular is dedicated to representing New Zealand’s cultural heritage and its perpetual development in relation to a distinctive national identity.

Located at the foot of Takarunga/Mount Victoria the building is also a workshop space, artist studios and performance venue with very reasonable hireage rates. nzculturalgenealogymapping.wordpress.com ArtsLab offers professional development workshops, seminars, and mentoring to creative people seeking career guidance and employment in the creative sector. Ph. (09) 963 2328 Creative People’s Centre is an online resource for creatives featuring articles on arts related topics, information about the latest CPC events plus legal factsheets. www.creativepeoplescentre.co.nz Cultural Icons is a series of interviews with iconic New Zealanders who have shaped the arts and culture landscape of New Zealand. www.culturalicons.co.nz Jam Radio is an online community radio station. www.jamradio.co.nz Morph Magazine is an online arts and culture magazine featuring articles, overseas columnists, reviews and artist profiles. www.morphmagazine.co.nz Urban Arts Village Devonport celebrates everything that makes Devonport the rich and distinct community it is; its history, heritage, landscape, landmarks, arts and people. www.urbanartsvillage.co.nz

Depot Artspace 28 Clarence St, Devonport, Auckland PH: 09 963 2331 www.depotartspace.co.nz Opening hours: Mon: 12 - 5pm Tue-Sat: 10am - 5pm Sun: 11am - 3pm Public Holidays: 11am - 3pm 3

Snowplough and the Angel by Sandra M. Waine 2010

True Community: Components of a Meaningful Community Three years along the track of Auckland’s unprecedented change to a mini-megalopolis and the jury is still out on its benefits to Aucklanders and their quality of life.

In mid-2013 a moderate-sized survey of 350 Aucklanders showed that those surveyed are still unsure whether the governance reforms have benefitted the region or their local community………

In terms of the impact on local communities, substantially more Aucklanders surveyed, 30 percent, felt the effects have been negative and 20 percent felt they have been positive. - The State of Auckland Report, 2013: AUT University School of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

The issues which concern locals are likely regarded from a Supercity perspective as parochial and petty. When structures get big the things within them are, of course, smaller and can often get overlooked. This can be exacerbated for that which is already small or overlooked – minority groups, social problems, certain interest groups and sectors of the population, and certain localities – is often rendered invisible.

And then, when bureaucracies are formed in response to the complexity and size of services required for large populations, another significant set of problems arises; in the quest for efficiency the system often overlooks or sidelines those it is supposedly set up to serve. Hospitals, government departments, banks and other corporate entities such as telephone and internet service providers - the list is endless – are all client centred services, and yet clients often feel superfluous, like they’re languishing somewhere at the bottom of the bureaucratic structure.

Such is the situation with Council; neighbourhood issues like noise or rubbish or berm control are on the low priority list in comparison to housing and transport concerns.

Big buries people; small is unlikely to lose them. They have a voice able to be heard and responded to. Small groups delivering services always come face to face with the people they serve. They develop relationships with one another which are affinitive as well as functional, and which are more likely to entail mutual accountability.

The Depot Artspace celebrates local culture and community with a ‘small is beautiful’ philosophy, working to satisfy individual needs and interests – the artist, the exhibitor, the musician rehearsing or recording here, the young person on work experience, the volunteers. Inclusiveness is a considered practice; whoever comes is acknowledged and encouraged to find their place. The Depot offers a lot of opportunity for involvement, as LOUD details, in the services, programmes and spaces available. The arts are distinctly about acknowledging and supporting difference as it is reflected and embodied in the work of the artist, and inclusiveness is the antidote to isolation, a common malaise among many creative practitioners.

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The other excellent thing about small is that it is infinitely versatile; it can remain small and independent but it can also organise itself into a collective and gain strength in its new form. Individuals united by a common vision or concern have a greater capacity to effect change. The whole is certainly greater than the sum of its parts as movements such as those inspired by Martin Luther King and Gandhi attest. In New Zealand the anti-apartheid movement of 1981 succeeded in bringing disparate groups and individuals together to effect historically significant change for justice and equality.

Small can do great things when at its core, which is more easily discernible, are the principles that guide its action. Small is easily exposed and therefore more readily accountable, more easily accessible and in its smallness more versatile in its response to issues and opportunities. Such is the nature of smallness as embodied by the Depot Artspace, the reason why it remains practically responsive to its community.

In his book The Breakdown of Nations (1957) Austrian economist Leopold Kohr (1909 -1994) known for his opposition to the “cult of bigness” and as one who inspired the small is beautiful movement made the radical case that small states, small nations and small economies are more peaceful, more prosperous and more creative than great powers or super states. He claimed that once a system, any system, lost its ‘human scale’ it became an oppressor. “The problem is not the thing that is big, but bigness itself”. [...] there seems to be only one cause behind all forms of social misery: bigness.

Oversimplified as this may seem, we shall find the idea more easily acceptable if we consider that bigness, or oversize, is really much more than just a social problem. It appears to be the one and only problem permeating all creation.

Whenever something is wrong, something is too big. [...] And if the body of a people becomes diseased with the fever of aggression, brutality, collectivism, or massive idiocy, it is not because it has fallen victim to bad leadership or mental derangement. It is because human beings, so charming as individuals or in small aggregations, have been welded into over concentrated social units.

More and more we see community values absorbed into big city thinking: community identity superseded by regional branding; pulling together replaced by individualism and competition; neighbourhoods replaced by dormitory living where working commuters are up before the crack of dawn to miss rushhour traffic; the family or whanau supplanted, through need or convenience, by care programmes for children or fragmented out of work and school activities; communication over difficult issues giving way to disputatious litigation; computers as a key source of relationship.

An environment where people are not interacting with one another, physically, socially, emotionally, spatially, psychically, is not a community. An on-line community, for example, is an oxymoron. But, dangerously, it is gaining validity as the internet increasingly convinces us that if we share information, satiate our commodity fetishism, and find fulfilment in alternative cyber lives then we are fully engaged in life. The internet is a single component of community and one least likely to be called upon in a crisis, when human contact is most appreciated.

Now in its 18th year and with thousands of people who have hung out, exhibited, rehearsed, played music, read poetry, viewed an exhibition or enjoyed a concert here, the Depot Artspace can be considered a community in both a historical, place-based and an affinitive sense.

- Linda Blincko 5

Exhibitions & Events Nigel Smith, Steve Varney & Graham Young: Three Worlds Collide 1 – 13 February

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 1 February 2 – 3.30pm

Three artists who started in the same place and took three different routes on their journeys, to collide eventually, at the same destination.

Their work reflects those journeys, shaping three different views to produce a fascinating exhibition of colour, shape and texture.

An exhibition of three different styles, three different genres and three different approaches from artists Nigel Smith, Steve Varney and Graham Young.

Nigel Smith

Nigel Smith paints abstract works, that also encompass photography and Photoshop images, where he likes to allow for random and improvised elements. He has developed two streams of work; his ’dreamscapes’ are often ambiguous or partially abstracted with a landscape or figurative element, and his second body of work is more abstract.

Steve Varney’s surrealist prints are based on his ideas and imagination. Varney likes the fact that in art, anything is possible and that you are not limited to reality. He sketches his ideas then transfers them to the computer to render them.

His biggest influences are the natural and the unnatural world.

Steve Varney

Graham Young has built a reputation for creating paintings that capture the vibrancy of contemporary New Zealand life through realism, sparkling light and bold colour. Young’s impressive oil paintings have made their way into collections both here and overseas.

Graham Young

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We encourage you to come and be a part of the community.

All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and events.

Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 1 February 2 – 3.30pm

John Davis: Seven Days of Creation 1 – 13 February

John Davis presents a series of paintings based on the Seven Days of Creation. In chronological order, Davis takes the viewer through a series of ‘snapshots’ – from the Big Bang to the coming of God to planet Earth, and beyond – where he has stuck to his personal belief structure, “One Planet, One People/One Universe, One God.” This series speaks for him about theosophy, the universe and love. These have been constant themes in his work for many years, but it is only now, in this series that they have, as if by magic, merged together.

“The greatest magician would be the one who would cast over himself a spell so complete that he would take his own phantasmagorias as autonomous appearances. Would not this be our case?” - Novalis

The Vernacular Lounge

James Morgan: Works In Progress 3 – 23 February

James Morgan will be developing his practice over the course of three weeks here at the Depot Artspace. Drawing on previous work to create something new, Morgan will take over the Vernacular Lounge where he will exhibit and paint simultaneously.

The space will be open to the public for viewing at various times.

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Exhibitions & Events Graham Downs: Retrospective Fifty Years of Day-Dreaming 15 – 27 February

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 15 February 2 – 3.30pm

“I started carrying my paint box around when I was eight years old. I was always recording or creating something, from spear guns and underwater cameras to paint boxes and yachts. As a teenager, weekends were spent travelling around with my mates, sailing, surfing and painting. I also had a keen interest in photography and had my own darkroom.

With my interest in art and my unusual view of the world, it was obvious that a career in art was where I was headed and working as an advertising art director/graphic designer offered a world of opportunity and travel. My interest in illustration and photography was my strong point and as a designer, I often conceived the work and completed the final illustrations and photography.

Like other Kiwis working abroad, I had no fear of having a crack at anything and solved problems that overseas art directors walked away from. This kiwi can do attitude served me well and I soon became the senior art director with many leading international ad agencies.

I returned to New Zealand in 1983 and set myself up as an illustrator. There was no real illustration industry then and I played a major part in establishing it. My work won many national and international awards, but for me painting was always my first love, so after a lifetime of conceptual work I am more interested in the beauty of the world and the painting of light and the application of paint and the finished surface and effect. This exhibition shows my personal and commercial work, although there are many gaps, as I never collected my own work.” - Graham Downs

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We encourage you to come and be a part of the community.

All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and events.

Graeme Thompson: Alchemy|Play|Art 15 – 27 February

Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 15 February 2 – 3.30pm Graeme Thompson is a mixed media conceptual artist who grew up in Pukemaori, Western Southland, on a small farm within sight of Fiordland. His mixed media assemblage works have a heaping, helping, handful of surrealism and symbolism, topped with a sweet layer of humour and mordant wit. He uses toys and found objects to engage the unconscious of the viewer in a psychological, alchemical transfiguration of the base materials into alternative (and adjoining) realities of play and art.

Thompson’s exhibition, Alchemy|Play|Art, is a journey of exploration with his inner child into his country upbringing; American foreign policy, religion, and the Wittgensteinian position that art cannot objectively represent subjective experience ... and it is all wrapped up in a lot of fun.

“I like putting jokes into my mixed media artworks, and they’re all fun, even the serious stuff, and they swing wildly between the Symbolist, Surrealist, and Marx Brothers areas of the art spectrum. One piece - named ‘Misrepresentational Table’ - is, literally, a 14 kilogram wooden table top hung on the wall!”

- Graeme Thompson

Amnesty International: Strike – Chasing the Dream Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 1 March 2 – 3.30pm 1 – 6 March Strike is an exhibition and auction of art created on Beehive matchboxes that celebrates the humble match to raise funds for Amnesty International. It features artists, designers, jewellery makers, fashion designers, sculptors and crafty sorts. Last year we auctioned off 60 matchboxes and we look forward to doing it all over again!

For this exhibition the theme is Chasing the Dream. It’s all about doing what you believe in and standing up for freedom of expression. The boxes will be exhibited for one week and will be auctioned off on Trade Me. This is a great way for you to celebrate creativity and support Amnesty International.

Caitlin Smith will also be performing at the opening on Saturday the 1st of March!

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Exhibitions & Events Brian Millard: Lost and Found A Retrospective 8 – 20 March

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 8 March 2 – 3.30pm

“In painterly terms the words ‘lost and found’ refer to the edges of a shape. ’Lost’ describes how where values are ‘close’, edges merge or bleed one into another. And where edges are defined and sharp they are ‘found’.

But ‘lost and found’ has another meaning which is pertinent to the timing of this exhibition.

About twelve years ago my partner Marilyn Palmer Story (also a well-respected watercolourist) and I took a huge gamble. In the process we lost Auckland and found Otago. We purchased a couple of acres of paddock close to Arrowtown almost on Lake Hayes. We built a home and studios, a teaching facility and a commercial sized gallery on the site surrounded by mountains on all sides.

We had no guarantee that we would be able to survive through our art.

Our first sale came before we had opened the doors officially. It was cause for celebration; and we toasted ourselves with a bottle of Moet. As time went on there were many more bottles of Moet, until regular sales became common place and we no longer felt the need to mark each one.

After more than a decade of successful painting and trading we look back on our time in Otago with a sense of wonder at our own initial foolhardiness and how we managed to do what we did.

We returned to Auckland a year ago. We have not completely lost Otago but have found Auckland once more. It has been a splendid round trip.” - Brian Millard

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We encourage you to come and be a part of the community.

All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and events.

Rina Botha: Female 8 – 20 March

Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 8 March 2 – 3.30pm Rina Botha finds the female figure in the New Zealand scenery and conveys it in her rolling landscapes.

Gentle hills, verdant forests and wild waves become potent symbols of the primal feminine power inherent in nature. The female form reveals strength, fluidity, beauty, passion and power.

The feminine is depicted at times with tender subtleness and at other times with extreme obviousness. There is a richness and fullness in her work that draws you in to explore mother earth and feel the energy of nature pulsing within.

Once you immerse yourself in the artist’s world, you may perceive your local landscape with an altered sense, finding the female energy within your surroundings waiting to be released on canvas.

Depot Artspace Members Summer Exhibition 22 March – 10 April

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 22 March 2 – 3.30pm

The Depot Artspace is proud to present our annual members exhibition! We would like to invite our members to take this opportunity to exhibit up to 3 works in our Main Gallery.

There is no theme or restriction on the size or medium. Installation and sculpture are welcome but please discuss with our curator Robyn Gibson any ideas for installation work well in advance of our set up date.

Along with our past and present supporters we welcome all new members to exhibit and the cost is $10 per entry.

Please deliver your work on the afternoon of Thursday the 20th of March as the set up day is Friday 21st March.

Confirm your participation by email as soon as possible to robyn.gibson@depotartspace.co.nz or phone 09 963 2331.

We look forward to working with you to create a fabulous exhibition.

Please ensure works are of exhibition quality, works on paper need to be framed ready for display and all framed work needs to be in good condition with hanging cord attached.

The Depot reserves the right to remove any work that may not meet these requirements.

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Exhibitions & Events Susan Hurrell Fields, Susanne Khouri & Celia Walker: 52 Weeks 22 March – 10 April

Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 22 March 2 – 3.30pm

Three printmakers, Susan Hurrell-Fields, Susanne Khouri and Celia Walker embarked on a project marking the passage of a year by each making one printed work per week, beginning in March 2013.

As the year progressed, a variety of printmaking methodologies were used to make personal marks and explorations, record events and places, and make visual notations of the passing weeks. Three very different approaches demonstrate the various ways the artists use in their mark-making. Each artist has chosen and utilised strategies that best express their personal intentions and working styles.

Although primarily abstract, Susan HurrellFields’ work evokes themes of disintegration, instability and loss.

Susanne Khouri focuses on more personal themes concerning family and relationships across generations, weaving into her work the connection with her young granddaughter.

Susan Hurrell-Fields

Celia Walker’s interest in landscape and memory is a constant thread through works which register personal travels and cartographic histories.

Celia Walker

Susanne Khouri 12

We encourage you to come and be a part of the community.

All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and events.

Gaylene Earl: Playing with Paper Julia Thorne: Flora-Scapes 12 – 24 April

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 12 April 2 – 3.30pm

Gaylene Earl’s large scale works, with the lack of visual reference, are designed to engulf the viewer and engage them in a contemplation of the detail that makes the whole. These large works comprise thousands of strips of paper, painted on both sides that are either torn or cut according to the requirements of the subject. These strips are then tethered at one end and allowed to float free, creating a sense of movement, texture and the possibility of change.

They are tactile, temptingly interactive, shimmering cascades of colour, to be read and explored as aspects of nature.

In other works from the Playing with Paper series, torn swathes of paper, vertical layering, colour and mark making capture the essence of the South Island back country, others evoke elemental skies.

Julia Thorne’s close-up deconstructed works of flora invite the viewer to truly see the intricacies, integration and innuendo of nature, so often overlooked in the frazzle of the modern world.

Her limited edition prints are created through traditional emulsion-based film combined with the use of digital technology skills and pigmented inks.

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Exhibitions & Events Judy Stokes: Moments in Time 12 – 24 April

Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 12 April 2 – 3.30pm

Judy Stokes originally from South Africa, now lives in Muriwai. For Judy, photography is all about having her camera with her as much as possible to capture and be a part of, “That Moment” when it arrives. It might be the light, mood, texture or design that makes a moment worth capturing. You never know when the moments are going to arrive but when they do it makes photography an exciting art form and life an absolute pleasure to be living.

Agi Lehar-Graham: Sky and Sea Paintings 26 April – 8 May On or around the coast, the weather, the time of day, the light bouncing off the various surfaces of the water, clouds and land – all these things change in front of you as you watch. Even on a still day, the colours and the textures of the shadows and light are slowly changing; or when the wind is blowing and the clouds are pushed along the light and reflections are fleeting.

Back in the studio, Agi Lehar-Graham tries to recreate these moments or moods by pushing and pulling blobs and squizzles of paint around.

She attempts to represent the scene without losing the nature of the paint; Lehar-Graham transforms an opaque blob into something quite different yet still keeps the feel and physicality of the paint.

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Opening in the Small Dog Gallery Saturday 26 April 2 – 3.30pm

We encourage you to come and be a part of the community.

All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and events.

John Hodgson: T.A.W. the american wars 26 April – 8 May

Opening in the Main Gallery Saturday 26 April 2 – 3.30pm

T.A.W. the american wars A visual reflection on global conflict, a journey, a tweak at the hem of political and religious rhetoric…

T.A.W. the american wars, is a seven year and ongoing journey in paint; a visual exploration of the intersections of war, faith and politics.

The backdrop is a five year stint living in the USA at the centre of which were the events of September 11 and the subsequent “War on Terror”, which extends globally to the present day enveloping many nations and cultures including our own.

John Hodgson resides in Grey Lynn, Auckland, has been painting since his youth and to date has sold his work privately. This is Hodgson’s first solo exhibition and follows his participation in the group show Electica at Depot Artspace, August 2013.

Writing services for artists Carefully crafted words can act as a bridge to a deeper experience of art – they arouse curiosity that encourages the all-important “closer look.”

In 2014, Jennie Hatherley, art writer, award winning communications writer, and author is available through the Depot Artspace to help you with your artist statements, applications, and promotion. Jennie also offers a unique process that helps you get to the core spirit and purpose of your work.

Call Jennie on 0272808189 – and watch for news about affordable workshops to be offered in 2014.

Depot Galleries: 28 Clarence Street, Devonport Kerr Street Artspace: Mt Victoria, Devonport www.depotartspace.co.nz 15

The Meaningful Community Map: A meaningful community is a place where a sense of belonging and familiarity exists, where ties are made and roots are established.

Meaningful community differs from a more transitory, upwardly mobile, dormitory environment.

This is a map of Devonport but the same ‘meaningful community’ code can also be applied to any community.

Place on your map, points that connect with each of the components of a meaningful community on the Legend.

It will indicate how your community meets your needs and also how you engage with or take part in making community meaningful to yourself and others.

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LEGEND AC. Physical activities you take part in (e.g. where you walk your dog/run/cycle/ swim‌) EM. Places you connect with emotionally S.I. Places you meet others and engage in social interaction.

FRIENDS. Where your friends live.

F. Functional activities such as shopping or where you have your car repaired, visit the dentist or doctor.

OUTLOOK. Places you look out onto or where you go to appreciate the view.

REFLECTION. Where you go to reflect, meditate or have quiet time.

V. Voluntary activities; where you give back to the community.

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DISAPPEARING COMMUNITIES: EVERGREEN BOOKS In January Devonport lost a significant community member and rich local asset. After 25 years the iconic Evergreen Books closed its doors, leaving behind hundreds of saddened customers for whom the book store had been not simply a place to buy books but a community in its own right. Over the years, regular customers became the owners’ friends and also made friends amongst themselves as they shared an interest, passion even, for foraging through the astounding collection of more than 40,000 books. Evergreen was also a destination, attracting bibliophiles from across the city and around the world. One of its regulars, John Campbell, commented on opening a rare edition of Alice in Wonderland and finding among the pages pressed flowers, ‘you’d never find these on a Kindle.’

Second-hand books –in the way that people and buildings do - carry a history in their well-thumbed pages that often becomes as much a part of their value to the purchaser as the content. In losing Evergreen Books, Devonport lost much more than a bookstore; it lost a repository of accessible, often intriguing reads, of personal stories beyond the pages, of shared interest – in short, it lost an irreplaceable community.

Sadly, as much as Evergreen Books was loved by its many loyal customers, it succumbed to unconscionably high rents and a decline in sales that made continuing impossible. We wonder whether this is the future of communities where urbanism, upward mobility, high cost of living and subsequent gentrification undermine established populations and their treasured icons.

- Linda Blincko 18

Volunteering at THE Depot Artspace As a newcomer one of the things that really stood out about the Depot Artspace was the team’s connection to their volunteers. On a weekly basis eight wonderful individuals help out and are an integral part of the community and the activities that go on under this roof. It has been a pleasure to get to know each of the volunteers personally and come to expect their arrival on their chosen day.

Volunteering is a great way to be part of the community and have a positive impact while developing skills and networks. Not just a one way street, volunteering is a reciprocal exchange of time, energy and benefits. Our current team volunteer for a variety of reasons; for all it’s a great way to meet people and belong. Many are themselves potters, photographers and artists who enjoy being part of the creative community. At the Depot Artspace there is never a dull moment with artists, musicians, creative characters and friends crossing the doorstep every day. One of the key concepts at the Depot is open and inclusive and this is physically evident in the amazing network of individuals and relationships that bind them to this place.

We currently have opportunities for new volunteers and would love to talk to anyone interested about volunteering and becoming part of our team.

If this sounds like you please contact Helen Winskill on 09 9632331 or helen.winskill@depotartspace.co.nz - Helen Winskill

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My Sense of Place - Robyn Gibson “We were down at Devonport in the early days, eating ice creams and taking our striped deck chairs to Cheltenham beach. And lion hunting. Family, friends and pets.�

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In June 2014 we launch Tūrangawaewae, Sense of Place - our ongoing project focused on the evolution and history of the Devonport community and its landscape. There will be a collaborative aspect to the exhibition where we will invite you to display old and new photographs of significance to you. In preparation, we’d like you to start thinking about your identity, history, heritage, memory and the components of community that contribute to your sense of place.

Robyn Gibson’s two works here, along with a Belmont family portrait, are her interpretation of the project. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

- Lia Kent Mackillop

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Approaching my own art practice and my teaching of art in simpatico Article #1 The life-changing power of passionate practice I’ve been thinking, as an educator and as an artist, about my approach to my own painting and to my teaching of Visual Art to 8 - 14 year olds. It is endlessly about what I can do better next time, just always and forever reviewing my ability to transfer ideas, encourage and support the learning and creative experiences for myself and others. This benefits not only me, in the way of pushing forward with my own practice, but always knowing that my students are taking this journey in their art room, with me. I see this as a HUGE responsibility on so many levels, yet a responsibility that I relish with a passion.

Here I sit writing my thoughts. The ‘brain chatter’ in my left hemisphere never stops on how I can teach more clearly, more concisely; as to always fit in more empowered learning and the ‘doing’ of art making. I’m always trying to improve the ‘model’ for all students at their individual levels. It’s not that I teach the same thing twice the same way at all.

I picked up a paintbrush for the first time 10 years ago since going to Elam School of Fine Arts in the 70’s, where I majored in photography. I’d only been exposed to about six weeks of painting in my second year at art school and to paint again changed things completely! Finally a visual expression of my thoughts, ideas and visual stimuli now out of my head and soul and wham up there in front of me, to deal with how I wanted!!!! It was scary stuff but hugely exciting at the same time.

The ‘what-if’ I did this or that … what’s the worst that could happen? I quickly discovered that I didn’t bleed, hadn’t broken any bones and I wasn’t remotely sad or lonely. In fact, quite the opposite. I was somewhat surprised at how kind the initial return to painting was! What fun it was to learn to ‘play’ without fear. Behind all those paintings for the first years were other paintings, several sometimes. There still often are, kind of like a draft when learning to write stories as a young student. So I was just editing my images as I was furiously editing the ideas in my head.

My own style and application of paint upon traditional and ‘found’ surface has changed more than a number of times during this past decade. More often than not this was powered by the need to analyse different artists’ styles in order to teach it and encourage investigation by experimentation and observation. More important has been the growing ability to take risks, become confident problem-solvers and generally to take the fear of practice through trial and error away for both myself and the students.

Surely this leads to a sense of personal satisfaction, albeit momentary or lingering, while knowing there’s so much more to follow. New investigations bring a ‘rush’ to my soul, following a plethora of ideas and possibilities and a huge sense of sheer excitement.

- Linda Gair (Part 1 of a reflective series by Linda on her art practice) 22

A Dean Buchanan inspired painting on hessian Year 9 student

An Impressionist inspired painting - Year 8 student

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Depot Sound News Depot Sound Song Writing and Recording Workshop Depot Sound is running a four day song writing and recording workshop to develop the skills and confidence of aspiring songwriters.

The workshop will be run over two consecutive weekends. The first weekend will feature talks by industry experts about song writing, vocal coaching, recording, self-promotion, and basic music business information.

The following weekend each participant will be given the opportunity to record a demo of a song they have written using the skills they have learnt in the workshops.

The Depot Sound song writing and recording workshop is suited to aspiring singer-songwriters or duos.

You can find more photos and news on Facebook at www.facebook.com/depotsound

The Miltones

Lightning on Me

What a wonderful way to end 2013! Despite the looming thunder storm, Windsor Reserve stayed sunny and warm all day for Devonstock.

Petra Bullock, EXIT 420, Brendon Thomas Music, The Miltones, These Guys and Lightning On Me were all great.

Thank you to everyone involved and to all of you who came along. See you again for the 2014 instalment!

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www.culturalicons.co.nz LATEST INTERVIEWS: Episodes 69 & 70: Gifford Jackson - Part One and Two These interviews bring together Michael Smythe (Author of New Zealand by Design) and seminal designer Gifford Jackson for a colourful conversation about graphic, maritime, industrial, interior and architectural design.

Supported by a wealth of images, Jackson recalls with astounding visual memory, many of the experiences which formed his career: drawing architectural plans for imaginary art deco homes, his passion for model wooden boats, his various jobs and acquaintances around Devonport and Auckland.

We hear about some of his early maritime design education (in Glasgow) and how joining the war effort part way through his education was a blessing in disguise, allowing him to travel to North America. It was on a brief trip to New York that he met Virginia, a woman who would later (1949) bring him back to the United States.

In New York, Jackson was in the eye of the product development and marketing storm that was post-depression America and he came into contact - and worked with - some of the greatest minds and brands of the era (Donald Desky, Walter Dorwin Teague, Karl Otto, Walter van Doren).

Yet, more than just a discussion of a man’s life, this conversation takes a look at/ draws us into an era when advertising, salesmanship and aesthetics were merging inadvertedly - but perhaps out of a real necessity- to create the consumerist ethos, habits and business attitudes which are still in place today.

- Federico Monsalve

Look out for our publication to celebrate 70 episodes of Cultural Icons!

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ArtsLab: TRUE COMMUNITY True community is many things, care of others is an important aspect for me. This past week I discovered a dimension of caring for others I’d never realised previously. We were working with an ArtsLab artist who, when describing a particular experience in job search, became upset and quiet. At that very moment Mia our gallery dog entered the room and after a moment of taking it all in, jumped on the sofa and sat closely beside the artist she had never met previously. Mia was gently stroked and within a few moments the interview continued and all was calm. In the ten years I have worked on ArtsLab, I have learnt much from the artistic community, this has been the most profound learning experience concerning our furry friends about care and community!

Communities are also places of change and after fours years working on the ArtsLab team, Brian White departed in December to work as a talent scout for Font Talent. We expect to have ongoing contact with Brian as Font Talent places into employment artists we work with.

We are pleased to welcome to the ArtsLab team and to the Depot Artspace Mathew Parkin. Mathew brings extensive experience in a corporate career spanning 20 years including senior management operational roles and more recently supporting people into work through other supported employment agencies. He has always been involved with the arts through various family activities. He is a local resident in Devonport (so we knew he would be able to start work on time!). He enjoys bringing an understanding of what employers look for in candidates and has an understanding and empathy for clients who are job seeking’. Mathew’s expertise will be a real asset for the ArtsLab programme as the Depot ArtsLab adapts to and meets the dual challenges of significant changes to its contract and Work and Income’s beneficiary reforms.

- Lynn Lawton New ArtsLab staff member Mathew Parkin

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Depot Events & Openings Group Show: A Potters Dozen

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All are welcome at Depot Artspace exhibition openings and exhibitions.

Please check www.depotartspace.co.nz for the latest news and events.

Robyn Gibson / Christine Hansen / Linda Gair

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Join By joining the Depot Artspace we can keep you updated and involved in the following Depot Artspace initiatives: • MORPH MAGAZINE - online arts and culture magazine • JAM RADIO - online arts and culture radio • CULTURAL ICONS - interviews available online featuring significant contributors to NZ’s cultural landscape • CREATIVE PEOPLE’S CENTRE - resources and legal fact-sheets for creative people • DEPOT SOUND - recording, post-production, mastering and rehearsal space • DEPOT GALLERIES - exhibition, event and festival facilities in the Depot Artspace, Devonport • ARTSLAB - professional development programme, workshops and mentoring for creative people • THE MUSEUM OF THE VERNACULAR/KERR ST ARTSPACE- Encompassing the Peace Space and Cultural Mapping projects which explore NZ’s distinctive and evolving cultural identity. A large space for workshops, theatre, etc. An intimate space for self-managed exhibitions and meetings.

• PLUS THEATRE, MARKETS, DANCE, SEMINARS + MORE!

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